One of the girls was eight years old when she was abducted and sexually assaulted. A suspect in the crimes was arrested Wednesday in Jeddah. He was identified only as a married, 42-year-old Saudi schoolteacher with five children.

Lawyer Adnan Al-Zahrani will supervise activities of the legal committee that will provide legal counsel to the girls. Maha Hariri will head the psychological counseling and rehabilitation committee. Saleh Shabraq’s has been designated the girls spokesperson and liaison. Counseling Director at the Jeddah Department of Educational Affairs Salem Al-Twairqi will be in charge of the girls' educational needs. Saeed Al-Harbi will act as spokesman of these committees.

Al-Harbi said all the actions of the committee aim at minimizing the psychological impact of the crime on the victims.

The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has instructed its member Maatouq Al-Shareef to become the advocate for all the victims who are minors, as defined to be currently under the age of 18.

NSHR Supervisor Hussein Al-Shareef told Arab News that the NSHR has been striving to be in contact with the families of the victims to ascertain the extent of assistance they received from the government.

“No doubt, the NSHR is willing to offer all assistance to guarantee the rights of the minor girls who have been the target of the inhuman act, and it will see that the offender is brought to justice,” Al-Shareef said.

He also commended Jeddah police for its success in arresting the rapist. The suspect is not believed to have murdered any of his victims, but rape is a capital crime in Shariah. Due to the high number of victims, it is unlikely that, if found guilty, the suspect would escape the death penalty.